Disappointment again for Worth, despite strong spring for Tigers

Danny Worth hit .302 this spring, but for the second straight year was cut in the final week of camp, as the Tigers opted to go with recent trade acquisitions Andrew Romine and Alex Gonzalez at shortstop.
CARLOS OSORIO — The Associated Press

Another strong spring for the Detroit Tigers didn’t guarantee anything for Danny Worth, meant little more than it did a year ago.

He was sent to minor league camp Tuesday, along with Hernan Perez, leaving the shortstop job for recent trade acquisitions Andrew Romine and Alex Gonzalez to split.

Nothing more that the 28-year-old Worth could do, apparently, to convince the Tigers brain trust that he could handle the shortstop position left vacant by the shin injuries to Jose Iglesias.

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Faced with the prospect of starting the season with Worth — who hit .302 this spring after hitting .333 last spring — or Perez, the Tigers promptly traded for both Romine and Gonzalez in the span of 72 hours over the weekend.

“Tough cut,” manager Brad Ausmus told reporters. “He swung the bat extremely well. By all accounts, it is the best that people in this organization have seen him swing the bat. ... I told Danny it’s kind of a Catch-22 situation. We like the idea of having more experience at shortstop, but the only way you can get experience is by playing.

“He was extremely gracious about it. There’s a very good chance that, at some point (this year), we’ll see Danny Worth.”

Essentially the same thing that Worth heard last year, when the Tigers opted to go with veteran Ramon Santiago (and his $2.1 million contract) as the backup infielder. So Worth got shipped to Toledo, along with Quintin Berry.

“I think Danny Worth deserved to make the club out of spring training. He did not. He should’ve been on the team, but he shouldn’t have, I guess is the best way to put it. But he certainly played well enough (in spring) to be on the team,” former manager Jim Leyland said late last season. “Very rarely do guys get screwed, coming out of spring training, but ... they got screwed. That’s just the way it works. Wasn’t anybody’s fault. ... We came out of spring training this year — and, to be honest with you, it normally doesn’t happen — we had 27 guys that should’ve been on the team, and we only had 25 (spots).”

While Berry ended up moving on after being designated for assignment in a 40-man roster transaction, Worth had a disappointing, injury-filled season at Toledo before having his campaign come to an end with a shoulder injury with the Tigers in September.

After collecting 106 at-bats with the Tigers in 2010, he’s had 113 in the three seasons since, and just two last year.

Leyland called Worth “a great soldier in the organization” even before the player was designated for assignment in the offseason, making room on the 40-man roster for Joba Chamberlain. Worth came back to camp as a non-roster invitee, on a minor-league deal, and will probably end up back in Toledo, where he already has more than 1,100 career at-bats.